''Zen'' is a 1995 album recorded by French pop singer

Zazie Isabelle Marie Anne de Truchis de Varennes (born 18 April 1964), better known by her stage name Zazie, is a French singer-songwriter and former fashion model. Her greatest hits include "Je suis un homme", "À ma place" and "Speed". She co-produce ...

. It was her second studio album and was released on 7 January 1995. The album achieved success in francophone countries and provided five singles (two of them were only released as promotional singles): "Larsen" (#38 in France), "Zen" (#23 in France) and "" (#24 in France).

Recording

The vast majority of the lyrics and the music of the album were written and composed by Zazie. However,

Pascal Obispo Pascal Michel Obispo (; born 8 January 1965) is a French singer-songwriter. Biography Pascal Obispo, son of Max Obispo (a former Bordeaux Girondins football player of Basque origin) and Nicole Guérin (originally from Angers), was born on 8 J ...

Phil Baron Philip Mitchell Baron (born May 10, 1949) is an American voice actor, puppeteer and songwriter who voiced Piglet in the Disney Channel live-action/puppet television series ''Welcome to Pooh Corner''. He was also the voice of the title character ...

and Vincent-Marie Bouvot also participated in this album. "Zen" was recorded in a cellar named Unrealworld Studios, as reference to Realworld Studios of

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

where he had recorded his first album. This album was supported by a 42-concert tours throughout France, including three shows at

La Cigale La Cigale (; English: ''The Cicada'') is a theatre located at 120, boulevard de Rochechouart near Place Pigalle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The theatre is part of a complex connected to the Le Trabendo concert venue and the Boule Noir ...

in Paris. The music video for "Larsen" was produced by Phillippe André and won the prize of 'best music video' at the 1996

Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

. And for the song "", it was a tribute to

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

Track listings

Credits and personnel

; Musician * Accordion : Phil Baron * Acoustic guitar, background vocals : Pascal Obispo * Bass : Nicolas Fiszman, Laurent Gueneau and Pierre Jaconelli * Clavichord :

Vic Emerson Victor Emerson (1949 – 13 October 2018) was an English musician, songwriter and keyboardist. He was a founder member of the bands Mandalaband and Sad Café. He was co-writer of the latter's 1979 No. 3 UK hit single "Every Day Hurts" and the 19 ...

, Vincent-Marie Bouvot and Zazie * Cristal bachet : Thomas Bloch * Djembe, flûte de pong : Nicolas Fiszman * Drums : Nicolas Ackermann and Yvan Ackermann * Electric guitar : Laurent Gueneau and Pierre Jaconelli * Guitar : Michael Ohayon, Nicolas Fiszman, Stéphane Reichart, Kamil Rustam, Laurent Gueneau, Pierre Jaconelli and Vincent-Marie Bouvot * Multi instruments :

Steve Shehan Steve Shehan (born 18 January 1957 in Fort Eustis, Virginia) is a French-American percussionist and music composer. Early life Steve Shehan was born in the United States of an American (Cherokee) father and a French mother. Discography Steve She ...

* Organ (hammond) : Jean Mora * Organ, piano : Zazie * Percussion, scratching : Dee Nasty * Udu [] Yvan Ackermann * Uilleann pipes : Marc Pollier * Strings : Vincent-Marie Bouvot ; Recording and photo * Mixing : Nick Davis, Zazie, Phil Delire and Vincent-Marie Bouvot * Mixing assistant : Shaun DeFeo * Executive producer Caroline Molko * Programming : Zazie, Vincent-Marie Bouvot and Pascal Obispo * Photo : Youri Lenquette and Jean-Christophe Polien

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 1995 albums Zazie albums